Possible renewal for ‘Galactica’ close

SyFy Portal is reporting, but stressing the news should be viewed as rumor, that Sci Fi is close to renewing the critical hit Battlestar Galactica for a fourth season, possibly even before the switch to Sunday nights happens this January.

“Moving a show to Sunday nights might at first glance appear to be an act of desperation, but SciFi Channel is expected to officially give the greenlight to a fourth season of “Battlestar Galactica,” possibly even before the show makes its Sunday night debut on Jan. 21.”

The site is also reporting that news isn’t so good for the proposed spinoff Caprica: “Anyone expecting to see ‘Caprica’ before 2008 is fooling themselves,” a SciFi Channel source told SyFy Portal. “There is still quite a bit to be worked out.”

The site also goes on to report that Sci Fi is not expected to grant a greenlight for the recent mini-series The Lost Room which aired at the end of December and averaged a 1.8 household rating over its three nights (1.9, 1.7, 1.7), well below previous mini-series by the network (3.0+ from Mini’s such as Battlestar Galactica and more recently The Triangle).

Battlestar Galactica averaged a 1.5 household rating during the first half of its third season. The show is down nearly 30% from the 2.0 it averaged over the first 10 episodes of season 2.